Music on the beach.
So my last entry (well, the one before the one thats just a quote) was a little cryptic, I guess.
So I talked about Melinda a bit. Well, I come to find out, she has a boyfriend. Paul. A guy I know, and a guy I can respect. A guy who used to work with me. One of the few people who was actually friendly with me, and when I first started working there, actually insisted I sit down and have a lunch break with him to talk about stuff.
So yeah. Melinda, this girl I’m totally crazy about, is dating Paul, this really friendly guy, who was fired for being late. Melinda, who, the more time I spend with, the more I like. Melinda, who, I was almost convinced liked me.
Sad day.
I spent a couple days bummed out. Not mopey draggin ass around the house bummed out. But disappointed. Then, yesterday while siting bored on my computer, I decided to go read for a while. And for whatever reason, I left the monitor on. So I’m reading, and I notice that a buddy signed on. From my bed, I noticed the buddy who signed on was Melinda. “Hmmm,” I wonder if she’ll even message me. And then, almost as if my own thought willed it to happen, a conversation window pops up. We talked for a bit about the other day, she’d gone home sick, and ended up being crazy, but no hard feelings.
Then almost out of nowhere:
(17:38:17) Melinda: are you doing anything tonight
Surprised as I was, it didn’t take me long to reply that I was in fact doing nothing. Turns out Paul was throwing a bonfire down at the beach. I was invited. It wasn’t a difficult decision. Stay at home reading a book I’ve read 4 times already… or go spend the evening hanging out at a brand new beach, getting to know a fun girl even more. And its not like I would have minded spending an evening hanging out with Paul, either. Like I said, I considered him a nice guy. And she thought of inviting me It wasn’t like we were talking about the beach, or hanging out, or anything. She had planned on inviting me. Nice self-esteem boost, there ;o)
So we went to the beach. I’m broke, had no idea where this beach was and my car was out of gas, so we met at Target and took her car over. I get out of my car and start walking to hers, and she walks over from Starbucks and meets me halfway. I missed a step. She was looking good. We got into her car and started on our way – with me informing her that the beach was West, toward Oceanside.
Melinda has a very unusual taste in music. We started out the trip listening to Missy Elliot and eventually switched over to some prog bands I’d never heard of. Good stuff. I could even appreciate the Missy Elliot, despite it being rap/R&B. The way she was getting so into the music, singing the lyrics and making up the parts she didn’t know. Gesturing with her hands and moving her whole body to the music. Just made me smile. More on music later.
We talked a bit on the way there. Was there going to be anyone I knew there besides Paul? Anyone from work? No, she said. She doesn’t ever hang out with people from work. Wow. Self-esteem++. Heh.
So we get to the beach. I had decided to bring not one, not two, but three decks of cards with me. Which was a good thing, since we got there, and really, there wasn’t much to do. A couple blankets laid out, a small fire, and a dude playing guitar. So Melinda said we ought to play cards. So I taught her three card. I started to teach her 31, but when she realized it involved counting she suggested a different game. ;oP
Eventually, it was realized that anyone who had parked in the closest parking lot to us had gotten a parking ticket. Not much, but $32 is a pain in the butt. I guess that killed the mood, so a couple people left, and it was just me, Melinda, Paul, and his friend the guitar playing Robert. We all talked about music for a while. Bands that were awesome, bands that defined what music is today. We argued over some. Tool was mentioned a few times. Once even in comparison to Pink Floyd. Which I simply could not allow to go uncontested. Dark Side of The Moon and Aenima simply cannot be compared, let alone lumped together under as the two greatest/most influential albums of all time. Eventually the talking died down, and so did the fire. Melinda and I both had school the next day, so we left.
We talked a lot on the way home. Paul and her have been going out for about a year and a few months, although lately she’s been getting frustrated with him. He can be over-bearing, and she’s never liked that he drinks and smokes. All of this from her own mouth, without my prompting or being nosy. All this from a normally very shy person. If nothing else, I’ve obviously made a new friend, right? She talked about her family a lot. Her dad’s a full on computer nerd. Used to work for NCR, now works independently, ‘setting up networks’. Good times.
Then we got to Target. She pulled up next to my car, and I made my one move of the night. Or rather, my one non-move move. I didn’t get out. Not that I refused to leave or anything. I just… saw no reason to hurry home. So we talked some more. A lot more. And she decided to play some other random stuff for me. A german rap band. A couple other weird bands/musicals. Then the crem de la crem. Her and her friend Michelle have this thing where they get together and sing in a sort of karaoke way and record it. And Melinda makes the CD covers in Photoshop, edits the sounds to make it more ‘studio-esque’ and burns the whole thing to a CD. There was some funny stuff there. Now I know why people enjoy karaoke so much. I was laughing. Not in a mean way, but because it was quite amusing listening to her sing some songs by Shakira. And I also felt kinda touched. She doesn’t let anyone listen to these. She’s a bit self-conscious about it. So after about 45 minutes, I finally decided that I ought to let her go. She asked if I had fun, I told her I did, and said we’d have to do it again.
And that was my Thursday.
Today I saw Angela’s play. And it was hysterical. She did a good job. And it was really good seeing her again.
it’s damn near 2 am now. even though I have more to write, it’ll have to wait for another time.
I’m curious as to who still actively reads this thing. Let me know if you do. Even if we haven’t talked in a while.